Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag on Saturday lavished praise on the middle order for keeping alive the side's semifinal hopes in the Indian Premier League with a thrilling five-wicket win against the Mumbai Indians.
Sehwag (18) and Gambhir (19), who have scored bulk of the Daredevils' runs in the Indian Premier League so far, returned cheaply but Dinesh Karthik came up with a match-winning 56 off 32 balls while Manoj Tiwary chipped in with a 36-run cameo as the hosts edged out the Mumbai side.
"It was a crucial game for us and thank God, the middle order clicked in right time," Sehwag told reporters in the post-match press conference.
"Though we are not still sure of a semifinal berth but tonight's win at least leaves us with some hope," said Sehwag.
He praised Karthik for his sterling knock and said it tilted the game in the hosts' favour.
"He has done a fantastic job. After all he's a key player for us," Sehwag said.
Mumbai Indians player Robin Uthappa also complimented Karthik for his gem of a knock.
"I think the day belonged to him. He simply took the game away from us. We got a good start by cheaply removing Sehwag and Gambhir. But Dinesh batted so well. When someone bats that well, matches generally go to their way and it happened the same today," Uthappa said.
Karthik, on his part, thanked God for helping him find form.
"I believe when God decides to give you something, it exceeds expectation. I think I was lucky today," he said.
Karthik also owned the responsibility of the mix-up that saw Tiwary being run-out at a crucial juncture.
"It happened in the heat of the moment. We had planned to go for boundaries, instead of stealing singles and twos, because the ground is small. He did not hear my call, I think I was not loud enough. I think it was my fault but it happens," Karthik said.
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